Library of the future: 7 technologies we would love to see

Machines have made our daily work like a piece of cake. We have everything at our beck and call. Everything now is just at a push of a button! Imagine if the world of books could amalgamate with such technology! What bliss! Do go through these 7 technologies that all book lovers would love to see in future!

Library bookmark and guide

This little guide tool, besides acting like a bookmark, would also guide its users through the library, guiding them categorically through books. It shall also keep a track of the borrowed books, thus, reminding the user of return dates! This handy tool is a must for all our absent minded readers!

Book delivery drone

Just imagine. You are sitting in a reading room of the Library, in the middle of writing an essay, and want to get another book. Stay where you are, and use the app to order a book. The drone will come. Pull out the book from the box, and put the one or ones you don’t need any longer. The drone will place them where they belong!!

Digital interface for print books

Searching the content of the book (including smart search), looking for a reference on the web, getting an instant translation, writing notes, or collecting book passages – all this can be done on the same device that we use to read an eBook. It’s a stand you can put on a library desk. It includes two elements: a camera to read the info from the real world, and the projector to display digital info in the real world. Simply, place the book on a table under the stand, and you’ll see extra options, available for the book. It’s because everything what this machinre “sees” can be available and editable in a digital form.

Library utensils

Here is the idea. A real-to-digital highlighter could be connected to a computer. When you highlight something – move along the text in a print book – it will immediately appear in the notepad app on a computer. All your highlights would be collected in a single text document. When you are finished, simply send this note to your email address. The note will self-destruct the moment you close it. Such library utensils would be useful for less tech-savvy library patrons or those who don’t use advanced apps (for instance the ones with OCR – optical character recognition) on their phones.

Mobile library center

Sometimes, to engage local communities, or reach people in remote locations, the library would want to physically leave the library building. The Ideas Box is a revolutionary concept developed by Librarians Without Borders, with the aim to reach people in refugee camps and impoverished countries, but could be also used any time the idea of a mobile library is considered. The most thrilling thing about this modern library center is that it can be assembled in less than 20 minutes. The Idea Box is a portable toolkit – standardized, easy to transport and set up. The kit consists of six boxes (including library and internet access), fits on two palettes, and creates a space of 1,000 square meters. The library box includes 250 paper books, 50 e-readers with thousands of eBooks, and a variety of educational apps.

Print on demand machines

Bookless libraries, where you can’t find a single print book, launch regularly. They obviously won’t kill traditional libraries, just like eBooks don’t kill print books. The digital-only route has its disadvantages. Every digital-only library should offer their patrons the ability to instantly make a print version of the book. Let’s put aside the question who is going to pay for this. The most important question is that sometimes the book has to be real to make use of it.

Access to library via commonly used app

Imagine, what if many of the features could be accessible from a simple app – a browser on your mobile phone. You’d need it to browse the library, borrow a book, get notifications when it’s due, and finally, be able to read it. Maybe there would be an option to take a virtual walk through the library. Maybe there would be an option to make notes and highlights. Maybe there would be an option to recognize the printed text and turn it to editable notes. Yes, all these features are available, but they are delivered by special apps, and these special apps are not meant to be used in libraries. The idea is that everybody could use the library, and no extra knowledge and software would be needed for that.

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